Declare Epithetical Books The Song of the Whales
| Title | : | The Song of the Whales |
| Author | : | Uri Orlev |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 112 pages |
| Published | : | April 12th 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (first published 1997) |
| Categories | : | Fantasy. Fiction. Childrens. Middle Grade |
Uri Orlev
Hardcover | Pages: 112 pages Rating: 3.2 | 127 Users | 37 Reviews
Commentary Toward Books The Song of the Whales
Michael’s grandfather has a secret—a secret that’s almost too strange to share . . .When Michael moves to Israel, he leaves loneliness behind and steps into the light of his grandfather’s magic. Like a sorcerer’s apprentice, Michael learns how to blur the lines between dreams and reality when his grandfather hands down the most precious of gifts—a gift that allows Michael passage into his grandfather’s dreams.
Written with a quiet simplicity that wins the reader over at once Uri Orlev writes in a style so sure and yet so unassuming that it is certain to linger in reader’s minds long after turning the last page.
Be Specific About Books In Pursuance Of The Song of the Whales
| ISBN: | 054725752X (ISBN13: 9780547257525) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating Epithetical Books The Song of the Whales
Ratings: 3.2 From 127 Users | 37 ReviewsAppraise Epithetical Books The Song of the Whales
The "Song of the Whales" explores the relationship between a grandfather and grandson in Israel. This is a short novel, episodic in pacing. Much of the narrative qualifies as a novel-in-dreams.Mikha'el has never quite fit in with his American classmates, instead spending his free time with various adult friends. When he moves to Israel, that trend continues as he forms an instant bond with his grandfather and continues to correspond with his American friends. The pacing is a bit jarring--afterOriginally written in Hebrew and winner of the Hans Christian Andersen medal. This is a small, strange, quiet book in which the boy enters his grandfather's sometimes troubling dreams. in the end the grandfather dies. There is also an adult theme of the grandfather's housekeeper (a "kept woman" according the the boy's parents) breaking up with the grandfather. I can't imagine many children really enjoying this book. Probably only very serious or artistic children.
A quiet boy who is more at home with adults - Mr. O'Grady the junk-dealer, Mr. Albert the bookbinder, Mr. Rapp the gem merchant - than with children his own age, eleven-year-old Michael Hammerman finds a true kindred spirit in his grandfather Raphael, after he and his parents move from Port Washington, New York to Jerusalem, in order to be closer to him. As adult concerns percolate in the background - is his grandfather's housekeeper, Mrs. Saupier, really a "kept woman," and what does that mean?
Small book, very odd, I don't know what kids would like it. Kind of magical realism. Self proclaimed different kid learns how to be a dream master from his grandfather after his family moves to Israel to be there and make sure to collect their inheritance rather than having it go to the housekeeper. The real inheritance is not the stuff. If I am still thinking about this book in a month or so I'll up it to 4.
This book hooked me from Chapter one. I adored watching the relationship between Mikhael and his grandfather develop. But then about 1/2 way in a really disturbing dream was described and the beauty of the books was lost. Another reviewer said it got really weird and I would have to agree.
Saw this at the library and was intrigued. Turned out to be an interesting and at times moving exploration of friendship,love, loneliness, death and family (not as cliche as it sounds). It jumps around a bit and doesn't always flow smoothly but it has am appropriate dreamlike quality and the central relationship is quite touching.
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